MP3 players (1 Viewer)

[jackb]

I am interested in MP3 players that would work for playing bird songs & calls in the field. Are there any brands that would work as well or better than the birdpod (ipod nano) that would be cheaper, more sturdy and as easy to use in terms of navigating from one call to the next?

thanks
jackb

 

[Stewart J.]

A friend has just bought the new Sony MP3 (£140 on e-bay) it is a superb piece of kit and more substantially built than the i-pod. Menu navigation is a doddle the screen is bright and well protected, battery life is 20+ hours. Worth a look at jackb.

I use a small cheapo 512 mp3 player for bird song mainly for when on holiday out of the uk, and find it exceptionally useful. (cost £40)

Stewart

 

[griffin]

Creative stuff is a good alternative to ipOd. You seem to get more for your money. I use a Creative Zen Touch 20Gb.

Linz

 

[mountain man]

I also have a Creative Zen 20Gb as recommended by Griffin. It's easy to use and comes with all necessary software etc...

Highly recommended. (Thanks Linz)

 

[Edward woodwood]

Like Stewart says, I've recently thought about getting one of those tiny ones that hold about 512 megs for playback. Will easily hold the bird calls i need and battery life is good. Kids at skool use em. Maybe i should confiscate one?

Used a regular ipod a couple of times in Costa Rica and was excellent. The speakers used certainly affect the overall performace greatly.

 

[iporali]

Are there any brands that would work as well or better than the birdpod (ipod nano) that would be cheaper, more sturdy and as easy to use in terms of navigating from one call to the next?

No other mp3-player is as easy to use as a click-wheel iPod - period. There are brands which may offer similar sound quality, more battery life, storage and features (mostly useless) or better headphones for HD-based devices, but I think right now Apple has an edge in flash-memory based players (=Nano). Apple bought almost the entire production from Samsung's chip plant, which raised some complaints from competitors who were unable to get the components. If the capacity of the 1-4GB flash-Nano is enough for you, you can't beat their sturdiness with devices having a spinning hard drive inside them.

I strongly agree with Tim: if you listen/play the songs through external speakers, they are what limit the sound quality. Good active speakers are very expensive.

Ilkka

 

[LSB]

For a quick and cheap mp3 player try the Alba 128 mb £14.99 at Argos and it can be upgraded up to 1Gb by adding any SD memory card, so if you have any spare one's from your digi cam your laughing..

 

[g8ina]

My 2c worth.

I treated myself to an iRiver H120 (20GB HDD MP3 player and voice recorder) just over a year ago at just under GBP200.

Never let me down, been dropped numerous times, but it still keeps going. Battery life is excellent, I can listen to my music for upwards of 12 hours at a time before recharging, which only takes a couple of hours.

Just about to start test recordings to see if it will be as good as a bird recorder.

Now all I need to do is sort out a decent microphone, or make a directional adaptor for one of my old Sennheisers (parabola maybe)

 

[JCL]

Are any of these MP3s listed able to make sound recordings - to enable instant playback of an unidentified skulker? If not, what MP3 player/recorder would? Or is there a gadget you can add to the player to enable it to record?

James (stuck in the world of tape recorders)

 

[ermine]

Are any of these MP3s listed able to make sound recordings - to enable instant playback of an unidentified skulker? If not, what MP3 player/recorder would? Or is there a gadget you can add to the player to enable it to record?

James (stuck in the world of tape recorders)

The most important item to record sound in the field is your microphone. It cannot be emphasised too much. You need to check your selected mp3 player is capable of recording, is capable of recording at mic level, and ideally has manual level control. MP3 players are designed to be cheap and appeal to a yoof market. This market is not into field recording

The cheapest recording solution is a HiMD recorder, preferably used from ebay for about £50-60, which also allows you to store 1Gb worth of compressed bird calls should you wish. Again, you must make sure it has a mic input, not all do. Check HiMD specs here if you're looking used

Next up are things like the M-Audio microtrack and edirol R09 These can be marginal with weak signals. They're designed for musicians and interviewers. These subjects are louder and closer to the mic than your birds will be.

Don't sweat the recorder. It is your mic that will determine your reach. If it's built into the recorder you may get a serviceable recording of something as loud as a blackbird if you can see it clearly with the naked eye, and there's not too much other sound about. With a Sennheiser MKE300 you'll get the blackbird if you can see it clearly with bins. More than that and you need parabolic dishes or low noise shotgun mics and big money.

This post from naturerecordists describes how to use an iriver 120 as a recorder. Note that he observes you need loud sounds or a preamp. Birds are not loud - not even a Cettis Warbler is as loud as a waterfall or a rock concert

If you're really interested in using a small hard disc-based audio
player as a field recorder, check out the iRiver iHP-120 and the
Rockbox software.

iRiver is a Korean company that makes personal music players. The
iHP-100 was introduced in mid-2003, and replaced in early 2005 with
the newer 300 series. The iHP-100, -120 and -140 are iPod style
devices, with 10, 20 and 40GB hard drives respectively. Unlike the
iPod, the iHP-100 series has several features oriented to recording audio:

--3.5mm line level input jack
--SPDIF optical digital input and output
--records in 16/44.1 WAV format or up to 320kbps MP3
--large remote control to manage most recording settings

There are a few problems with the iRiver design:
--maximum WAV file recording is 75 minutes
--can't adjust levels while recording, must pause
--1300mAh battery provides only 2.5 hours of recording time

These problems have been addressed by the open-source audio
software called Rockbox. Rockbox is developed by volunteers
and offered to everyone for free. You load the Rockbox
software into the iHP-100 series from your computer using a
USB cable.

Running Rockbox, the iRiver iHP-100 series players now record WAV
files up to 2GB (more than 3 hours). The record levels are displayed
on the LCD screen, and can be adjusted on the fly as needed. And the
Rockbox software runs more efficiently, making the battery last almost
twice as long. Not bad for a free software upgrade!

The Rockbox software development continues. Bug fixs and new features
are added weekly. You can find out more about the Rockbox project and
download software by following links at www.rockbox.org

The iHP-100 series machines are available used from eBay. The iHP-120
seems to be the most common model. Prices for the iHP-120 range from
$275 for a factory refurbished model with 90 day warranty, to
$175-$200 for a used model with all accessories.

Recording via the line level input works OK with most mics if the
source has a high sound pressure level (like a waterfall or a rock
concert). Nature recordists will probably need an external preamp of
some sort to raise the signal level.

Admittedly, a setup like the iRiver iHP-120 and Rockbox software won't
appeal to everyone. Most of us would be better served by a device
designed first and foremost as a recorder, such as the recently
announced Edirol R-9. But the iHP-120 combination offers real
advantages over the current iPod as a field recorder.

--oryoki